


Sound In Silence

by Im_The_Doctor (Bofur1)



Category: Video Blogging RPF, Youtube RPF
Genre: Affection, Bittersweet, Boredom, Brotherly Love, Caretaking, Caring, Carrying, Confusion, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Jackieboy is the best, Jameson is a cutie, Loneliness, Memories, Mid-Canon, Nostalgia, Returning Home, Sleep Deprivation, Sleepy Boys, Surprises, Tenderness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-17
Updated: 2018-12-17
Packaged: 2019-09-21 03:21:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17035643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bofur1/pseuds/Im_The_Doctor
Summary: Jackieboy doesn't like to have the house to himself while the others are working; it brings up too many unpleasant memories. It doesn't take long, however, for him to remember that he isn't truly alone.





	Sound In Silence

**Author's Note:**

> This was a prompt from Tumblr a while back and embarrassingly enough, I think I forgot to post it here! Here it is at long last!  
> Anon: "All I can think of is Chase is busy doing a video, Schneep is at work, Marvin is doing a magic show, while Jameson and Jackie are at home. Jameson falls asleep on the couch, in a very Awkward position so Jackie picks him up and carries him to bed like a good older brother."

It was incredibly rare to have the house to himself, Jackieboy mused as he arrived home, already pulling his hood down and sliding two fingers underneath his mask to peel it off. His ceremony with the mayor had ended early today, but none of the others had been able to make it anyway. That was perfectly fine, of course; they had their jobs to attend to and Jackieboy couldn’t expect them to find time for every ceremony. In his opinion, the city threw a few too many. How many times could they emphasize how grateful they were for his protection?

That aside, what he had to come home to…It wasn’t what he preferred. All at once Jackie found himself unable to suppress a shiver as the old, familiar sense of isolation gnawed at his heart. How many nights had he spent looking around at the closed doors to the empty bedrooms, longing for someone to be inside when he opened it? In the end, all he had been greeted with was a layer of cobwebs and dust particles floating coldly and distantly around him.

Now that he  _had_  a family, he realized just how awful those years alone were—dodging the police instead of working with them, treating his own injuries with his vision blurred with tears, constantly talking to himself or turning on thunderous music in an attempt to drown out the silence—oh, he’d hated it. This silence in their absence was unnervingly similar.

Tossing his mask onto the table, Jackie listlessly trudged toward his room, leaving the door cracked open behind him so he could hear if anyone came home early. He doubted they would, but it was a small hope that reassured him. He could entertain himself with the comics lined up on his shelves, he decided, thumbing through them to find his well-worn favorite. By now he knew the words by heart, but a test of his memory would serve as a good distraction.

After reading for about forty-five minutes, he found that his agitation was kicking in again, stirring an uncomfortable disquiet in his stomach. If he started fixing a meal, maybe he could convince himself that it was hunger, but the more he glanced back out toward the empty kitchen, the less he wanted to try filling it alone.

If he had his way, they would all be there together in a busy, chattering throng. Marvin would be at the table sketching out choreography for one of his acts, Henrik would be leaning on the counter waiting for his coffee to brew, Chase would have his feet propped up on the coffee table with cartoons blaring away, and Jameson would be curled against Chase with his nose buried in a book. Sadly, Marvin was in the middle of rehearsals, Schneep was working a double-shift, Chase was off filming and Jameson…

Come to think of it, where  _was_  Jameson?

Brows furrowing, Jackie tossed the comic to the edge of his bed and swung his legs aside, padding back out and glancing down each end of the hall. It was still just as empty as it had been before…Upon thinking, he skirted around the dining room table, shifting the blinds aside to peer through the sliding glass door. To his further surprise, the backyard was empty too; it seemed JJ’s love for gardening hadn’t appealed to him today.

After checking Chase’s room, the laundry room, the lab, and even the roof, Jackieboy returned to the kitchen, fishing out his cell. If he texted him, maybe he’d get a reply with an explanation. As he typed, he did his best not to let his concern overwhelm him. Jameson may have just gone out for a walk around the city, as he often tended to! There wasn’t really any reason to worry, apart from the fact that Jackie was already put off his game by his loneliness.

A muffled trill from somewhere nearby caught his attention. Pivoting in bewilderment, Jackieboy sent another message, straining his ears, but he managed to distinguish a few tufts of teal hair sticking up over the armrest immediately before the next notification went off, buried somewhere in the couch.

Had JJ really been there this whole time? he wondered in amazement as he moved into the living room. How had they missed each other? As soon as he managed to get a proper look at him, those questions was answered—he was fast asleep, in what had to be one of the most awkward sleeping positions Jackieboy had ever had the amusement of witnessing.

True to what he had imagined, he’d been reading immediately before his impromptu nap; the book was lodged against the armrest and he’d landed face first in it, so his poor neck was craned up to accommodate his head at the 110° angle. His right arm was draped over his head as if to shield it, his left lodged in the gap between the couch cushions, and his legs hadn’t fared much better. His left knee was curled up, trapped underneath him, while his right was propped up against the back of the couch.

Forced to clap a hand over his mouth to stifle threatening laughter, Jackieboy could do nothing but take in the sight for several long seconds before the thought occurred to him that he ought to do something about it. Once he was sure he could draw closer without laughing, he did so, crouching down by his head and smoothing the corners of the rumpled book’s pages so he could get a look at him. He could only see Jameson’s side profile, buried in the book as he was, but he was able to make out how heavily he was breathing.

No one could’ve fallen asleep in a position like that unless they were really exhausted, Jackie mused, a touch of sympathy breaking through. He really didn’t want to wake him…As funny as it was, it was endearing too, and it was usually harder to get back to sleep after being woken up once. Still, this couldn’t be good for his neck and back. Tsking softly, the older Ego ran a gentle hand over his shoulder.

“JJ…buddy, you gotta get up. You can’t sleep here.”

No response, so he shook him a bit more firmly and got something of a twitch. His right leg slid back down from where it had been leaning—progress. After another minute or so, Jameson stirred enough to lift his head a little, snuffling sleepily as he peeked up at the one who’d woken him.

“Hey there,” Jackie greeted in a whisper, unable to suppress a smile. It was amazing how many years Jameson shed when he was sleepy. “The little one,” Schneep always called him. Right now, with his glazed powder-gray puppy eyes and tousled hair, JJ definitely looked the part.

 **“Time s’it?”**  he slurred.

“Time for you to move to your bed,” Jackieboy advised, sliding a hand under his head before it could waver back toward its makeshift pillow. “Here…up we go.”

It didn’t take much effort for Jameson to end up in his arms; he was startlingly light and as soon as the couch wasn’t beneath him anymore, he accepted the movement willingly. As soon as he had his cheek nestled against Jackie’s collarbone, he mumbled something too soft to be caught on his speech slides—most likely some kind of thanks—and quickly dozed off again. Jackie’s heart promptly melted entirely.

 _Their youngest_.

As he made his way slowly down the hall toward Jameson’s room, the younger Ego’s drowsy breathing warm against his neck, the hero decided that the quiet wouldn’t be nearly as suffocating anymore.


End file.
